L’affaire Governor: Paterson admits to several affairs

“Several years ago, there were a number of women,” Paterson said. “The public wants to know who its elected officials are and sometimes, even though you are human, and you are someone who just has feelings and has faults, there comes a time, perhaps, when you have to tell the public.”

The admissions dampened the mood in the state capital of Albany, where lawmakers had chanted Paterson’s name and cheered after he was sworn in Monday. But there were many significant differences between Paterson’s infidelity and the scandal that took down former Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Spitzer, like Paterson a Democrat, has been accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on high-priced call girls, including one last month. Federal prosecutors are deciding whether to pursue charges against Spitzer, who went after prostitution rings when he served as attorney general.

Paterson said that his affairs happened during a rough patch in his marriage, and that the employee did not work for him. He insisted that he did not advance her career, and that no campaign or state money was spent on the affairs. “I do not feel I have broken my commitment to the citizens of New York state,” Paterson said.